The Gathering Line

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

Something STINKS about TCEQ's recent Fort Worth air study. Considering that the Barnett Shale has a staggering asthma rate of 25% compared to 7.1% statewide, TXsharon thinks it's time for an intervention in Texas. Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS

Follow the FRACTURE and you will find fraccing! Read it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

When the citizens of Pulteney learned that a gas well in their town was going to be converted into an underground injection well for disposal of Marcellus wastewater, they didn't take the news sitting down. Sue Heavenrich blogs about last week's town board meeting on Marcellus Effect.

Flower Mound Town Council will vote Thursday night on changing the zoning and ordinance to allow a Waste Water Centralized Collection Facility. What is a CCF and what will it mean to Flower Mound and their neighboring communities? Read about it at stopthedrilling

Gathering Line

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

Express Energy Uses Mafia Like Tactics On A Fellow BloggerNEW Information On Express Energy! Express Energy Being Sued For MULTIPLE Employment ViolationsRead it at Cheap
Tricks and Costly Truths.

Take a photo-tour of some of the wells in our backyard in Upstate NY at Marcellus Effect

The Texas Department of State Health Services is looking into a possible cancer cluster in Flower Mound. 5 children and 2 adults have been diagnosed with Leukemia. All live near gas drilling activity. Read about it at www.stopthedrilling.blogspot.com

How does Texas compare with other states? A statistical analysis with graphs reveals the truth at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

How do yoga, the Bible, and hydrofracking relate to each other? Peacegirl sees a connection. If it were an answer by Karnak the Magnificent (you would have to be a certain age to know about Karnak!), it would be amusing, but it's not. Yoga, the Bible, and Hydrofracking brings up the issue of doing harm. Is hydrofracking harmless? No. Another question: Who will listen? There are many people who are telling their stories about how gas drilling has adversely affected their lives. Is anyone listening? From Peacegirl at Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends.

From atop the Marcellus Shale, Splashdown reports that a recent PA Supreme Court ruling states local municipalities can regulate where gas wells are located through zoning ordinances, pre-empting PA's Oil and Gas Act. Read how Greenfield Twp. stopped Exco Resources from drilling a misplaced well, despite their DEP permit.

ExxonMobil Adding Some Hmm? To The Benzene Symposium

A few weeks ago I blogged about reading an article that had an environmental oil & gas spokes person say something really incredulous. I also remember thinking how similar that was to what the tobacco companies had done. Didn't the tobacco industry fund their own health studies to prove that there were no ill effects from smoking? If I remember correctly the method the tobacco industry used was erroneous thus leading to provide false conclusions that smoking didn't lead to lung cancer.

Imagine my surprise then when finding out that at the 2009 Benzene Symposium, two members on the organizing committee happened to be ExxonMobil employees from their BioMedical Division. Hmm...makes one wonder what the heck they had to say about Benzene?

The document I read was 63 pages in length, and a lot of it discussed the tests that were run and how they were conducted. I read and processed a bunch of information from it, and on page 36 I read this:

Benzene causes a spectrum of hematotoxicity ranging from reduction of peripheral blood cell counts to aplastic anemia and leukemia in humans.

I've heard about Benzene before. Isn't Benzene found in the toxic emissions of oil and gas drilling operations? And hasn't there been evidence showing that high levels of Benzene have been found in the air over the Barnett Shale? And isn't there quite of bit of oil and gas drilling going on in the Barnett Shale? Curiouser and curiouser...

Now, as I put two and two together...like those two ExxonMobil employees at the Benzene Symposium, Michael Bird and Robert A. Schnatter,...what do ya suppose they were posing as? Concerned benefactors of society? Shocked and amazed polluters turned environmentalists? Unbiased and impartial contributors? Eh, I highly doubt it.

Doing The Hills With Durango, The Youngs and Many Others

I received an invitation from Mr. Don Young to attend the Wild Women and Manly Men hike at the Tandy Hills. Anyone could have attended, in fact I believe that Mr. Durango blogged about it and made it a well publicized event. The kids and I had two weeks off for the Christmas Holidays and by the beginning of week two Annie had this to say, "I just want to go somewhere and do something fun." I responded, "How far are you willing to drive and what kind of fun."

The invitation from Mr. Young made sense. A little driving and sight seeing, a little hiking and running around was what Annie and I needed and boy did we ever get it!

Not only did we get to meet Mr. Young and his lovely wife Debra, but we met a whole host of other people. I only have one picture from the event it's of Olive the Prairie Dog, Kimberly Clark and Ariel posing with Annie. I forgot to charge the camera, thus no other pictures could be taken.

Annie and I got a special treat, we got to hang out with Mr. Durango. Did I tell ya I find physical fit white haired men irresistible? Mr. Durango is such a wonderful tour guide. We got to see all sorts of sites and also saw things that weren't so wonderful such as some of the damage done by the oil and gas drillers. I don't understand the treatment the Trinity River gets. Why if we had such a nice river in Wink, I don't think we'd treat it so badly. Well, I'd hope we wouldn't.

Annie and I liked our visit to Ft Worth so much so, that we plan on visiting again.

Below is a YouTube video put together by Mr. Marshall, a wonderful Tandy Hills supporter, of the Manly Men & Wild Women hike.

Understaffed And Overworked

After reading ProPublica's latest article entitled: State Oil and Gas Regulators Are Spread Too Thin to Do Their Jobs, I decided to do a Google search and see what other sectors are plagued by this problem. I found that this same problem exists in a lot of different industries, here's a short list:



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Securities Exchange Commission
The Nursing Industry
Most Regulatory State Agencies
The Food and Drug Administration
IT Departments

So, I don't understand. I know, I know...I'm not a dumb blonde anymore, but I still don't get it. With all this work to be done, and with such an enormous problem of being understaffed...how come we gots LOTS and LOTS of unemployment?

Oh, and if you could, sign up at ProPublica and leave a comment. ProPublica is a stand alone not for profit agency that focuses on stories where the weak have been exploited by those who have the power to protect, but don't...it's in your best interest.

Oil And Gas News Brought To You Via The Gathering Line

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

TXsharon @ Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS helps you follow the money to see why Governor Perry and others want Texans to keep breathing toxic air.

Some think cold weather caused this pipeline to become weak and brittleTruth be known, it's just old as the dirt it's been buried in! Read it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

Flower Mound receives applications for 18 new gas wells and a compressor station in the last 30 days. These wells will be in the same 5 mile radius area where 5 children have been diagnosed with Leukemia in the past few years. Read about it at www.stopthedrilling.blogspot.com.

How can towns protect their roads and bridges once gas drilling begins?
Given the thousands of truck trips expected to develop one well site, upstate NY highway supervisors are struggling to protect taxpayer investment in infrastructure. Read about it at Marcellus Effect

Hydraulic Fracturing contaminates groundwater. Environmentalist say government slow to monitor and not looking hard enough for contamination. Citizens for Environmental Clean-Up

We're back from the holidays!


Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

Another Pipeline Rupture!!! We can be thankful that only the soil is contaminated! Read it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

Texas is the first state to conduct testing of citizens to determine if their health symptoms are caused from exposure to drilling toxins. But TXsharon is not sure this is such a great idea. Find out why on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Gas leasing in upstate NY has become the number one land use issue. The access roads and pipeline right-of-ways that accompany development threaten to fragment the agricultural landscape. Read more at Marcellus Effect.

Citizens for Environmental Clean-Up reported on the TCEQ water discharge hearing.

Flower Mound amends Oil and Gas Ordinance to prohibit seismic testing on public roads and right-a-ways read about it at www.stopthedrilling.blogspot.com

Gas And Drilling News

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.


Amy Goodman interviews Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting, an Ithaca, NY-based environmental database firm which released a report last week, uncovering 270 documented hazardous chemical spills which occurred over the past thirty years. PA's own Department of Environmental Conservation's database contained records of fires, explosions, wastewater spills, well contamination, and ecological damage related to gas drilling. Take a moment to watch the interview Amy Goodman Interviews Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting Mr. Hang is calling on NY Governor David Paterson to withdraw the Draft Supplemental Geologic Environmental Impact Statement, citing woefully inadequate reporting which will not come close to protecting the environment, water, and public health. This is a must-see interview! Visit Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends to find out more from Peacegirl!

Would you consider this a small footprint?See the effects of 40 years of drilling!Read it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

Gas drilling is destroying Pennsylvania's wilderness. The Pennsylvania Wilds include more than 2,000,000 acres of publicly owned virgin forest, clear mountain streams and abundant wildlife. Read about how these public lands are being violated and watch href="http://splashdownpa.blogspot.com"Splashdown for public action you can take soon to defend the Allegheny National Forest, part of the Pennsylvania Wilds.

TXsharon continues to follow the abuses of Aruba Petroleum in a Barnett Shale backyard and Wednesday the Wise County Messenger picked up the story--don't miss the comments. It's all on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Colleyville tables application for first well site. See story at Flower Mound Citizens Against Urban Drilling

Sue Heavenrich writes about problems with a local compressor station in upstate New York at the "Marcellus Effect." Industrial drilling in Marcellus is impact enough, but without local zoning rural areas are open to invasion by other industrial uses too, including compressor stations. You'll find more on the "Marcellus Effect"

From A Backyard In TX To The Watershed In NY

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

Splashdown wants to encourage everyone to get behind the 2 Action Alerts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and all inflowing waterways. 1. You can send an easy click message to Congress to urge them to join in sponsoring this critical Clean Water legislation. 2. Beginning Nov. 9th, public input (also easy click to comment) is being sought on strategic plans for President Obama's Executive Order for cleaning up the Bay. So please, hop to it!

TXsharon continues to report from a backyard in the Barnett Shale. Despite all the local and national press on drilling related toxins, carcinogens and neurotoxins in our air, Aruba Petroleum Refuses a Simple Step to Improve Barnett Shale Air and thereby recklessly and willfully endangers public health and safety. Read it on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

The New Energy Army Pickens Proposes to force his plan upon the nation Read it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

Peacegirl writes about the situation in Clearville, PA, where compressor stations are causing serious environmental problems. Read Compressor Stations Wreak Havoc in PA. Watch two videos, and see for yourself what it looks like to have tiny oily spots on every surface, every plant, farm equipment, a pond- everywhere. It is unbelievable! See the cemetery adjacent to a Clearville compressor station where local residents hope someday to "rest in peace." They are wondering if that day will come sooner rather than later because of the serious health threats they now fear from the gas industry. Who will help the residents of Clearville? Is the PA DEP doing its job? Visit Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends. Reader comments are always welcome.

Sue Heavenrich reports on a recently released report about drilling accidents in NY 270 Drilling Accidents in NY So Far Read about that and and more at href="http://marcelluseffect.blogspot.com

Flower Mound Citizens Against Urban Drilling urges everyone to read the Environment Texas study to learn how excessive waste of fresh water and toxic chemicals gas drillers use in the extraction of the gas are threatening our drinking water in the Barnett Shale area.

Oil and Gas News Brought Through The Gathering Line

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

This week's Gathering Line is too scary for Halloween


Peacegirl writes about gas drilling in Bradford County, PA. Welcome To Bradford County, PA, calls attention to an article in the Fall 2009 issue of Save the Bay, the magazine of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation which features the North Branch Susquehanna River in Bradford County. From the blog Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends where your comments are always welcome.

Aruba Petroleum is drilling a Barnett Shale gas well in the backyard of Tim and Christine. Their property was taken, it's value diminished, they were threatened and now Aruba Petroleum spilled toxic drilling waste a few feet from where their daughter plays. Another tale (with VIDEO) about the Victims of the Shale on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Allegheny State Forests Littered!! Park Management Tries To Bring Drilling To A Halt And Are Met With IntimidationRead it at Cheap
Tricks and Costly Truths.

Today뭩 environmental horrors could lead to a scary Sci-Fi future. Drilling Santa Fe offers an excerpt from Apocalypse Soon by Laura Paskus.

Meanwhile, Splashdown says, Kiss myGas!

Williams Petroleum wants to pipe drilling waste water under our homes in Flower Mound, TX to a huge tank farm. Flower Mound Citizens Against Urban Drilling we discovered an alternative that is safer and greener. Williams claims to be a "good neighbor." Here's their chance to prove it.

The Gathering Line Oil & Gas Drilling News

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

WWJD on Carter Avenue? TXsharon wants to know if Chesapeake Energy or anyone in Fort Worth government has stopped to consider the answer to that question. Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Some upstate NY landowners are wondering whether they can sell their property if it has a gas lease. Check out the Marcellus Effect for a short review and a link to interviews with realtors.

NEWS FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Laceyville, PA, Getting Nearly $100,000 in Gas Revenues: Is This Good News? Peacegirl at Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends combs the newspapers of Bradford and Susquehanna Counties in Pennsylvania and talks with local people from these areas to find out what is really happening. This week the focus is on Laceyville, Wyoming County, PA. Will the people of Laceyville survive the invasion of the gas industry?

How Many Natural Gas Explosions Does It Take?!! One Too Many! Read it at Cheap Tricks and Costly Truths.

For the first time in decades, New Mexico Senators sacrificed migrating big game with their vote to allow drilling during the winter in the Jicarilla Ranger District of the Carson National Forest. Drilling Santa Fe asks if we have forgotten the high price of deregulation and offers something for consideration.